The Expiration Date of a Family
by Metal Flowers
Summary: This is a rewritten version of my first fic published on this site. Max is kicked out of the Flock, along with Angel. Max goes to the School to keep both her and Angel alive. They have a deal. If they stay there for five years and don't escape, they'll be allowed to go free once their time is up. With no choice but to agree, they complied. What effects could that decision cause?
1. Kicked Out

**This is a rewritten version of my old story with the same name. The older story was deleted, so this is not a copy of another publication on Fanfiction, so coincides with the guidelines. I just wanted to put that disclaimer up to avoid future problems. **

**Without Further Adieu,**

I fell into the cave. I was really exhausted; I knew that the deadline was coming soon. I hadn't been able to complete today's work, which might mean complete failure.

Fang looked at me with distain, "Clumsy much?"

The others laughed cruelly, except for Angel. She looked frozen, somehow. Her eyes foreshadowed a cloud of doom. Huh, was my poet self coming back? I thought that I had buried my overly depressing self back in Paris, when Fang had decided to stay with us. Dylan had gone off to try to free himself from the bond between him and me, because that was what I wanted.

Gazzy gave Angel a not-so-gentle push, attracting my attention, "What's wrong sis? Know what's going to happen yet?"

Angel choked back a sob and again, the flock laughed. I stumbled to her side and cradled her protectively.

"What's wrong with you guys?" I asked furiously. Their laughter died and was replaced by glares almost as impressive as mine.

Nudge snorted, "What's wrong with us? You filthy hypocrite! You're traitors, you and your little devil."

Iggy gave a hollow chuckle, "You're too stupid to know that we've caught on. That we've known about your little escapades to the School for a long time. You haven't noticed at all. Too caught up in your little adventures to that hell hole, right?"

I raised my eyebrows, "You know why I've been going to the School? Well then, you must know why I couldn't tell you."

Fang's glare rose in anger, "You couldn't tell us because you would lose your job with your _little friends from the School!_"

I froze, "You think that I'm working for the School?"

"We know more than that. We know that you _and Angel _are working for them," Gazzy sneered.

Nudge copied Gazzy's expression, "We've heard you two talking so secretively during the night. And there's the fact that as soon as you come home, smelling like chemicals I may add, you go straight to her _every single time_."

"Go away Max," Fang's voice was cold, "And take your brat with you."

"You bastards! I feed you, clothe you, protect you, and you think that we're working for the School? You're dead wrong. Dead wrong." My voice grew cold at the end, "If you still doubt my words, then it'll be all the same for you."

Angel swept back her hair from her neck, revealing a barcode. I did the same. There were two tattoo like markings on the back of our necks, showing that the School owned us and always will.

"Expiration dates," I laughed coldly, "We're dead to you now, and we'll be dead to the world in a month."

I stood up and limped to the mouth of the cave, "I've been going to the School and doing their sick tests in hope that they'd remove all of our expiration dates. At least there are four ungrateful people who I don't have to worry about anymore."

I flew off the cliff, with Angel in my arms. My wings flopped a bit unsteadily at first. I was already feeling weaker. Already feeling the effects of my impending death.

I kissed Angel's forehead, "I'm not going to let you die. I'll do everything that I can to help you."

I flew to a building that I've come to know so well. The School.


	2. The School

The doors opened without question. As if The School knew that we would both be coming. The worst case scenario when we come in here is we get thrown into the cages and get nothing in return. The medium would be us getting thrown into cages and the dates getting erased. The best would be…I don't know. I'm not going to get my hopes up.

Jeb decided to meet me in the entrance to the school. He looked at me sympathetically and gave me a hug. I didn't hug him back, but I didn't pull away.

"The board knows that if they just throw you in a cage, you'll escape, so they want to make a deal with you. If you stay here for five years and do all of the tests that are set before you, then the Dates will be erased." Jeb told me. I believed him because he was the only whitecoat in this building that had the slightest inkling that what the School was doing was wrong.

"What tests would Angel be doing?" I asked him.

He smiled at this question, "She will be doing tests based completely on intellect. We want to see how far her powers reach, how many people she can control at one time, and if we can make her more powerful with just practice."

I nodded. Angel might even _enjoy _that.

"What will I be doing?" I asked him. He suddenly turned downcast. Apparently, this was the question that he wished that I wouldn't ask.

"You will be tested on to see what you can…survive…through." He stuttered through the last part. I understood immediately.

"So if I fail a test, that means I die. It also means that Angel takes my place." I said in understanding, "I'll be sure to not die or give up, no matter how torturous."

Jeb brought us to a room. Yes, an actual _room_. Not a cage. It had two beds. No windows. No vents. Just a small room with two beds.

I was immensely grateful. I knew that Jeb was pulling all the strings that he could to give us a life that wouldn't require us having therapy sessions in the future. Sure he's failing miserably, but he's trying.

"Thanks, Jeb. Thanks." I told him. He had just brought us here to show us the room, though. Another whitecoat took Angel away to test how far away she could read a specific mind.

I was told what I would have to do before the test. Today's test was just a maze. It was kind of easy, compared to the other tests that I've already faced. The maze was designed, then I had to run through it. I usually just followed my instinct which lead me through the right paths every time.

A buzzer buzzed and I started running. Hot wires burned under my feet, but I still didn't pause. I took a left, then another left, kept going straight and passing several turns, then a right, another left, and _voila_! I was finished.

"That was just your warm up," an Eraser smiled wickedly at me. I growled at him.

They shoved me into a large, empty room. They shut all of the lights off and I begun to see a slight glow at the other end of the room. Fire. I ran over to it. It was too large to be blown out by now. Too large to be stomped on too. I knew what they wanted me too do. Or, what they wanted to observe.

They wanted to see how long I could stand the heat. I sat down next to the fire and let it engulf me. It burned my dress, but didn't harm a single hair on my head.

My skin and hair cells were really strong. Flame couldn't damage it, let alone cause me pain. I guess the School didn't know about that yet.

Suddenly, they doused the flame with the fire extinguisher. I got soaking wet.

Two Erasers glumly walked through the door. Apparently, they had been intent on watching me burn.

"Oh cry me a river, build me a bridge and _get over it_." I sneered at them. They took no notice of me. They brought me to yet another room. Jeb stood here.

"This is one of the truly torturous experiments," he warned me. I braced myself and looked around. There were chains that went into the walls. It looked like the chains could move in and out at the press of a button.

The Erasers strapped my hands and legs to a chain and walked out. Jeb forced himself to stay with me. They chains started pulling me, and at first it felt pleasant. Like it was getting all of the knots out of my shoulders. Then came the pain.

When I was overextended, a wave of pain washed over me. I tried to double over, but the chains didn't allow me to. They just kept pulling and pulling. My right arm popped out of place, causing a wave of nausea to go through me. I fought the bile back down.

"Ah!" I cried in pain. The chains gave another tug, and my skin split. I could feel my own blood dripping from my stomach down to the floor. Thankfully, there was no more room in the torture chamber (as I've so fondly nicknamed it) for me to stretch. The white coats all jotted down notes and unchained me.

"Amazing!' one of them said, "Most of them get split in half."

Jeb bandaged my stomach up and popped my arm back into place. I changed into a different, non-burnt hospital gown. If Angel heard about what happened, she would get all chivalrous. She would try to share the pain. I couldn't let her do that. She could have an almost happy life here if we all behaved.

I just wished that Maximum Ride had a 'behave setting'. Right now, I only have 'snide', 'Angry', and 'protective'. Mostly Angry and Snide is turned on, but for Angel, I would do anything.


	3. Endure

**I'm going to be doing time skips. This chapter will take place one year after the last.**

**One Year later,**

MPOV

I stared in a small mirror. It had been one year today. One year since we were exiled from our family. One year since we had come to this hell hole. One year.

I noticed a bruise swelling on my cheek and shuddered. Seventy six Flyboys, one mutant. Not very good odds for me.

When we first came here, Jeb had given me a solvent that made my bruises disappear. It was better than makeup because it literally disappeared. But it didn't go away. My body was sore from all my invisible wounds. I rubbed the clear liquid on my face and saw it go back to normal.

Angel walked in the door, flanked by two Erasers. She was smiling happily.

"I caught a flicker of Jeb's mind today," she announced happily, "What did you do?"

I lied smoothly, "I just flew laps around the gym room. They wanted to see how my pulse would quicken."

I had gotten great at lying for Angel's sake. The only person who could see through me would be F-. I stopped that thought cold. I didn't think any of the names. Couldn't think any of the names. The Flock is vague. I could pretend that it didn't happen to me. But the names were a different story. I know the story behind them. I _helped_ make them.

The Erasers were still at the door and one beckoned me forward. I sighed and gave Angel a tight hug.

"Love you," I whispered in her ear. That was my tradition, just in case I didn't make it back from today's test.

The Erasers walked me out. I know there were only two. I could easily get out with Angel. But there's a reason why there were so little numbers. I wouldn't escape. I wouldn't mind if they just killed me, but they had Angel under their little thumb. She doesn't know it, but she could die just like that.

I dutifully walked with the Erasers and they led me to a familiar room. The door had a plain black and white sign that said 'Strength' on it. I groaned as I recognized it. They were testing my strength again. And that meant Omega.

The Erasers pushed me in but I walked without stumbling. Jeb wasn't in the room which surprised me. He was always there, silently supporting me. Instead, Marian Jenson –the director- was staring at me.

"Maximum, we have a _special_ test for you today," she said in a tone so filled with happiness that I knew she was getting her revenge for me almost killing her.

She gestured to a chair and I sat down in it stiffly. She latched me into it. My arms and legs were instantly bound.

I found that I was facing a medium sized TV. The Director inserted a CD into it and stepped out of the room, leaving me alone. I knew that I wasn't alone though, there were cameras everywhere.

The movie started playing and I choked at the title. **ARI BATCHELDER** was in large, capitol letters across the screen. It turned out that it was a slide show.

First Slide: Ari watching Jeb playing with the Flock, glaring at us in jealousy.

Second Slide: Ari crying his eyes out. I suppose this was when Jeb left with us.

Third Slide: Ari on a metal table, his eyes closed. This was his transformation into an Eraser, I knew.

Fourth Slide: Ari a horrible mix of human and wolf.

Fifth Slide: Jeb ignoring Ari to study us.

Sixth Slide: Ari getting hurt as he battled us.

Seventh Slide: Ari's expiration date.

Eighth Slide: Ari wheeling me through the School.

Ninth Slide: Ari escaping with us.

Tenth Slide: A blurry picture of Ari, Angel, Nudge, Total, and I in a small, French restaurant.

Eleventh Slide: A badly drawn A-R-I in the dirt, with the R backwards.

Twelfth Slide: Ari dying in my arms.

The video suddenly clicked off and I wished desperately that my arms weren't bound so that I could wipe the tears from my eyes. The Director walked in, her heels clicking against the white floor.

"I especially enjoyed the last picture," she smiled maliciously and unlatched me from the chair. This was the second part of the torture. She was right there, undefended. All I had to do was reaching for her neck and squeeze. But if I did, Angel would die.

"I liked the one of us in the French restaurant," I choked out.

She huffed in annoyance, "Well, agree to disagree."

She walked out in a rush and I sighed in relief that I hadn't killed her. I wiped the tears from my eyes and nearly ran to the TV. I fumbled with it until it deposited the CD into my hands.

Jeb walked into the room, "Max, I advise that you put that back."

He if he says anything like that, it means that I'd be in big trouble. And that means that Angel would quit her fun learning and be put in the same tests as me.

With shaky hands, I gave the CD to Jeb.

"Yes, Jeb." I said in a small defeated voice.

**(Second Year)**

The Director walked brusquely into my room and yanked me up by the wrist. She pulled me out the door; I didn't stop her or resist.

"Another _special_ test," she frowned in disgust at me. She had been trying to make me snap, but I couldn't. I wouldn't.

She threw me into a small arena. Inside was a boy about the same age as me. He had blond hair and green eyes.

"Kill each other," she ordered us. She indicated to a table of knives beside of me and shut the door.

"We don't have to," the boy said in rebellion.

I sighed, "I do."

I moved towards him and picked up a knife, "I do."

He held up his hands, "No we don't. Here, my name's Sean. What's yours?"

"Maximum Ride," I answered him and moved closer still.

His eyebrows raised, "Like the bird girl Maximum Ride? The one who was dating Fang?"

I froze and dropped the knife. It hit the floor with a loud clatter.

"Don't say it again," I pleaded with him. It tore my insides out.

"What? Bird girl? I'm sorry if I offended you." His gaze brightened in understanding, "Oh! You mean Fang! Did you two break up?"

I screamed in pain and ran up to the door. I pounded on it.

"Let me out!" I screamed, "Let. Me. Out. I can't do it. I'll do anything else. Please."

Sean ran up to me and put a hand on my shoulder. I flinched away.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he talked like he was speaking to a frightened animal, "What happened?"

Then, my resolve strengthened again. This boy hurt me. This boy almost made me endanger Angel. This boy endangered Angel.

I stood up and walked to the knife. I leveled it at the boy's chest.

"I will not let Angel down," I promised myself, "I will do anything."

I Drove my arm back and plunged it into his chest where his heart should be. He gasped and started coughing. I guess I had missed if he wasn't dead yet. He rolled onto the floor and coughed up blood. I had hit a lung. I prepared to end his misery when the door opened.

"Leave him there," The Director snarled. I hesitated but only for a second. If I could try to kill him, I could leave him.

That was my first kill.

**(Third Year)**

Now, I know the amount of pressure to use to effectively kill someone. I knew to not give them any information about me.

Two more years.

Angel walked in and smiled.

"Hey Max! I can move objects with my mind!" she squealed.

"Telekinesis." I told her, "It's called Telekinesis."

Today was a day without experiments. Most of the Whitecoats had gone home so there weren't enough around to observe me.

I think it was Christmas. I gave Angel a big hug and didn't let go.

"Merry Christmas," I whispered in her ear. We were halfway done. Almost out. We were so close.

**(Fourth Year)**

Jeb handcuffed me to the chair of the fateful Ari incident. I sees that I would be watching another video. What could be worse than Ari?

The video flickered on and I gasped. **THE FLOCK.**

This wasn't a slideshow. It was a video.

Fang spoke, "Hey guys! This is the first video to ever be put on my blog! So here's everyone!"

The video bumpily moves across the room to show Gazzy smiling while he and Iggy worked on a bomb. Iggy was actually looking at the bomb. I widened my eyes as I realized that he could see.

Nudge was flipping through a colorful fashion magazine. She shoved it in the camera's lens.

"Think I should get this?" she asked the camera. I think that it would look cute on her.

And then came the thing that broke my heart. Nudge took the camera and filmed Fang. He was holding hands with a frighteningly familiar girl. Brown hair with blond highlights. Brown eyes. A sarcastic grin. He leaned forward and gave Max II a kiss on the cheek.

Next came something even worse. He smiled and whispered.

"I love you," he smiled into her ear.

**(Fifth Year)**

Today was the day that we were set free. Angel had never figured out what went on in the School, and I hope that she never will. Jeb gave me a small hug as we walked out.

"We'll all leave you alone. We'll never bother you again," he promised. It hurt to see that he still was associating himself with the School. I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded.

I glared at The Director as we passed her.

"Your dates have been erased and you are free to go," she snapped.

For the first time in years, I stepped outside.

Angel looked around, "Wow. It's so bright compared to what I remembered."

"There's one in Arizona," I said happily, "Near my mom."

I noted with disdain that even my happiest tone lacked something. I was weaker now, thinner. Angel had noticed this, but I had brushed her off.

Angel's not a child now, I reminded myself. She was twelve now.

She took my hand.

"Let's blow this joint," she smiled as she looked in my face.

My first real smile in years lit across my face as we took off into the sky.


	4. Family

**Pennycat and Bobo, how's the account coming along? C'mon! We're friends now, right? We can talk?**

**Without Further Adu,**

MPOV

Angel and I were almost at my mom's house when I looked down. A girl with long black hair was surrounded by boys. I snorted. Either Ella had really unlucky because she kept getting into these situations or she was really lucky because I was always there.

"Angel, stay here. Ella needs help." I said. Angel nodded and we dove down in between Ella and the boys. There was no time to pull in our wings, so they were out for everyone to see.

"It's that girl again," the lead boy said in disbelief. Then he smiled, "Hey chick! Remember this?"

He pulled out a gun and I hissed, "I have been in hell the last five years. Do. Not. Test. Me."

He ignored my warning and aimed at me. I ran at him and punched him in the face. Her cursed and clutched his nose, which I think that I had broken. I snapped up a high kick and my shoe collided with his forehead. He sank to the ground, unconcious, and I gave his body a kick so that he rolled towards his friends.

"I won't kill you this time," I hissed at him, "but don't threaten Ella ever again."

I looked at the other boys, "Take him away."

They picked him up and ran away from me with their tails between their legs. They were such cowards. They pick on girls weaker than them, but when the time came they ran away like scared puppies. I took a deep breath and calmed myself.

"Hey sis," I smiled cockily. Had I really lost control in front of her?

"Maya?" Ella asked in confusion.

I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. Why would she think that I was _her?_ "Ella, it's me. Max."

Ella slapped me, though I barely felt the sting with everything I've been through, "Maya! It's not funny!"

I rolled my eyes. When had Ella even _met _my clone? At all of the times I had bumped into Maya, Ella had been at a friend's house or something.

Angel landed behind me and Ella gasped. I looked back at Angel, expecting to see that she had somehow just gotten injured but I was greeted only by her glowing face that was already slightly tanned.

"But- but." She gasped, "You're alive!"

"Why wouldn't we be?" Angel asked.

Then Angel froze. She turned to me.

"The Flock told them that we were dead," she whispered. A knot formed in my stomach and I frowned in something like hate. Why did they always have to mess everything up?

I took Angel's hand and looked at Ella, "Then Mom's in for a bit of a surprise."

Ella charged at us and wrapped us in a tight hug. I awkwardly hugged her back. Ella was so physical with her emotions, and I wasn't. Well, I wasn't physical with good emotions. Bad emotions like anger, I'm great with. Though hugs and punches aren't necessarily the same thing...

"I thought my sister was gone forever." She whispered, "And now I have two of them."

"I-I'm your sister?" Angel stuttered. Family other than each other has become a strange concept for the both of us. Not me as much as Angel because of my mom and Ella, but we've both been betrayed by those we love the most.

Ella smiled sweetly at her, "As much as Max is yours."

She had guessed our relationship totally wrong, but that's okay. She doesn't need to know. She probably wouldn't udnerstand that I'm more like a mother to Angel than a sister, anyway. Ella wouldn't understand the responsibility.

Ella basically dragged us through the woods but I had to stop to rest half of the way. The School had really worn away at my endurance.

"Ella, we'll meet up with you," Angel looked deeply at her and Ella went on her way, her eyes slightly dazed. Angel had used her mind control.

"Max, what really happened at the School?' Angel confronted me. She poked a spot where the serum to hide my injuries hadn't quite been applied correctly and a dark bruise was forming.

I smiled sadly at her. I could never keep a secret from a mind reader for very wrong. I couldn't keep any secret long.

"Torture. But I won't elaborate because it's done with." I said, hoping she would let it go. Much to my surprise, she did. Or she stopped questioning me and started to think about what my life must have been like.

"All that time that I had been expanding my power," her eyes widened in horror, "You were being tortured."

"You were six," I reminded her, "I couldn't let it happen."

She conceded, "I get your point, but…"

"I know," I looked away from her, "Let's just go."

We walked in and heard Ella and my mom. Ella was talking excitedly, saying things out of order. Mom was being a good mom and was worried for her well being.

"And Joey was getting ready to shoot me, but-"

"Why are you so excited about almost being shot?"

"But it's not about that!"

"What could be more important?"

Angel and I stepped around the corner and saw my mom and Ella. Ella was hopping from foot to foot.

"Hey Mom," I greeted her shyly; "It's me. Max."

Mom whirled around to see me, "Maya, this isn't the time for-"

Ella interrupted her, "But Mom, this _is_ Max!"

I stepped forwards and my mom stepped back.

"You two are some trick created by the School," her voice wavered.

"Well yeah," I agreed which surprised everyone, "mutant freaks with wings are known to come from the School. But the non-winged parts were made by you and Jeb."

She asked me a question, "When we first met, where did I bring you to look at your gunshot?"

"First you sat me down on a chair but I was afraid the blood was going to ruin it so you took me to the bathroom," I answered. Her face broke down into a mix of sadness and joy.

"Max," she breathed, "Angel. You're home."

"To stay," Angel said, "If you wouldn't mind."

Mom looked away, "I wouldn't but you probably will. The Flock comes here whenever they're hungry or hurt. And I think that you won't want to see them, seeing as there must be some reason why they told us you two were dead."

"They kicked us out," Angel said quietly, "because they didn't believe that we had gotten our expiration dates."

Mom's face hardened but I softened her with reason.

"Don't do anything rash. If you don't care for them or let it slip that we're near here, that we're alive, then sooner or later we'll end up seeing each other." I pointed out. Ella and Mom nodded, seeing what I was talking about.

"I can't face them," Angel confessed, and gave them bambi eyes, "Please don't make me."

Mom nodded reluctantly, "That makes sense, but I don't like it."

Ella butted in, "Um…I just thought I should say this, but The Flock are five minutes away. Iggy texted me."

"We'll keep in touch," I promised as Angel and I literally ran out the door. Before we left however, I realized that we were still wearing our hospital gowns so I reached into the closet and brought out a bag of emergancy gear that I had aways hid under all of the shoes. I tosses Angel a light blue T-shirt and capris and we went into a room and changed. I then had on some jeans and a light gray hoodie. We looked completely normal.

After we made sure that we would blend in, we started to escape again. I decided that the Flock would see us if we took off into the skies, so we ran on foot. I saw four dark shapes in the sky and slowed to a walk. Angel followed me, like the saying: Monkey see, monkey do. Angel made a snort of indignation as she read that comment in my mind.

"Act natural, they'll see us," I instructed her quietly. I took her hand and picked her up. I swung her onto my back and started to carry her. She faked a yawn and rested her head on my shoulders.

Soon, it stopped being an act. She fell asleep and as soon as the Flock landed, I took off into the sky. After flying a few hundred miles, my attention was drawn to an enchanting forest beneath us. I woke Angel up and landed in the middle of a meadow. I should've known that no where was safe, but at the time it just made _so much sense_ to land right then and there.


	5. Sean and Natara

**Hey! For those who don't know, you can now upload chapters on your Apple Device! Just go to the regular site instead of mobile, go to doc manager, and they have a space where you can just type what you need to type and then you can upload that as a chapter! _Thank you _creator of Fanfiction! (P.S. Does anyone know who that is?)**

**Without Further Adieu,**

I landed in the clearing with a thump, effectively waking Angel up. She gasped and jumped out of my arms. I thought that it was safe here, but Angel had picked something up. Thinking that it was better to fly off than face whatever was here, I was about to escape when Angel shook her head slightly, vetoing my plan.

"Where are we?" Angel whispered. I got her hidden meaning. Where we near the school? I shook my head in answer. We were hundreds of miles from the nearest one. I could just tell.

"Far, far away from the nearest school," I promised her. Though if I was wrong, then we were in deep doo-doo. Angel was facing directly in front of us.

"Well, there are four mutants around us. Two are preparin to run and two are preparing to attack us. There's someone behind us behind a tree."

Angel's powers have really increased if she can pinpoit the exact locations of the minds. I was impressed.

"I'll take care of the person behind us," I told her wuietly, "Will you be okay?"

She nodded and I spun around so that I was facing the other way and ran into the woods. The person cursed and started to run in the opposite direction. I smirked as I played chase. I came in sight of the person. It was a boy with blond hair and green eyes. He was my first kill.

"How the hell are you alive?" I asked angrily as I pounced and brought him to the forest floor. His eyes were as surprised as mine when he realized who I was.

"Oh hey, Max," he smiled at me in greeting, "What's up?"

"What the hell?" I spat at him, "Why were you looking for us? You're dead!"

I clearly remember stabbing him repeatedly with a sharp knife. Unless I killed a clone, this wasn't possible. Just then, I heard a familiar and heart wrenching screa

I growled and punch Sean hard in the neck, knocking him out. He might have died, he might not have. I didn't care in the slightest. I ran towards the source of the scream snd saw Angel writhing against...the air. Aw Angel, that wasn't funny.

"She's invisible!" Angel informed me in a panic while she tried to scote a hit. Oh. That makes sense. I ran up to her and felt aroundher until my hand came to rest on a windbreaker. I grabbed onto the clothed arm and bent it behind what I thought would be her back. I was right. The being let out a pained gasp before appearing. It was a girl with shoulder length black hair in a ponytail, tanned skin, and dark purple eyes. She was glaring at me.

"Max, it's not very polite to knock out people," Sean said from behind me. What the hell? He should have been out for another ten minutes at the latest!

He saw that it was in his best interest to explain everything upfront, "I have super healing. No one's been able to kill me yet! My group's been looking for you for awhile. We kind of need a leader, and I thought of you because you would kill -literally, as I've found out- to protect your family. So, what about it?"

I don't know. On one hand, they were getting ready to attack us. On the other hand, we had no food, money, or protection.

"Who're the other mutants?" I let go of the girl and pushed her towards Sean. Immediately, two other mutants entered the clearing and I began sizing them up.


	6. Shadow and Amelia

**Shadow= guy with wings**

**Amelia= I mixed together Onyx Shadow's character and KittyKatKaramel's character. Thank you Fallen Angel xxoo for catching that!**

**Without Further Adu,**

The sun weakly lit the two shapes before me but my top notch vision instantly saw every detail of them. They both had on casual smiles on their faces, but they were fiddling with their clothes. They were anxious.

The smaller of the two had honey brown hair, pale skin, and multiple piercings on her nose and ear. She had forest green eyes and was about five two. I could see dark brown wings peeking out behind her.

Beside her was a guy that made me cringe. At first, I mistook him for F- I might as well say it- Fang. He had black hair, pale skin, and eyes. But I soon saw that he wasn't him. I grew up with –ugh- him, and I know what sets Fang apart from the crowd. Fang was so stiff around strangers, his feelings border lining between hate and strong dislike. This boy was smiling at me. His eyes were actually warm, unlike Mr. Rock. However, he still looked enough like him to make me freeze up with a sudden tidal wave of hate.

"Who are you?" I tried to keep my voice under control and succeeded. Angel looked surprised and slightly scared, like she was reliving the time when we were kicked out.

"I'm Amelia," the girl answered immediately, "Since no one's attacking you, I'd guess your Maximum."

"I'm Shadow," the dude smiled. I glared at him and he took a small step back. As he should. I hate people who can resist my death glare.

Sean stepped between us. He was being the mediator. I also hate mediators.

"Everyone, let's just calm down. I told them a little bit about you, Maximum, but there's probably been a bit about you that we don't know. And we know next to nothing about Angel. We'll introduce ourselves first and if you decide to be our leader or part of our family, you can introduce yourselves." Sean set the conditions and I looked at Angel. Her blond hair wasn't messy for once. It was knotless but was greasy and didn't look very good. She needed a bath.

She nodded, "It can't hurt. I'll let you know if anything seems the slightest bit off."

I motioned for Sean to start and he gladly did. He was relieved that I had not flown off. He shouldn't get his hopes up. The chances of us flying off were really high.

"I'm Sean. I have wings and heal faster than any other experiment. Other than the fast healing, I can get the gist of what a person's feeling. I escaped about a year ago with the others when a scientist didn't shut the cage all the way." He explained. So he was an empath. It kind of makes sense why I can't seem to really hate him, now.

Natara went next, "I'm Natara. Don't shorten it at all. Natara, not Nat or Tara. I have wings and don't make a noise when I walk. I can sneak up on virtually anything if I can get behind them."

That sounded useful, as did her personality. She was very upfront. I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about her.

Amelia went next, "I have dark brown wings and I really like shopping so when you're leader you should make sure that whenever you go shopping you should take me with you. But if some dude at the mall pisses me off, I'm going to rip his head off, okay?"

My mouth quirked but then I realized that she reminded me of Nudge. Though, she wasn't Nudge. Nudge wouldn't go ballistic on a sleazy guy, she would be scared. This girl was almost as badass as me in certain situations, I concluded. I liked this one.

"I'm Shadow. I have dark everything and can manipulate shadows. I was created using some of Fang's DNA, but I'm not a clone. They just made me look like him, and I guess they succeeded." His mouth widened into a bigger smile, "I proved them wrong though."

"Lucky you," I snapped. Angel put her hand on my shoulder and I calmed down some.

I hated this guy. If I stayed he would be a constant reminder of what I had lost. Of what we had lost.

But if I went, we would drift from town to town, alone forever with ourselves. I couldn't force Angel to live that lifestyle. My decision was already made.

I thought to Angel, **What do you think?**

_It's not my decision, but I think we should stay. If we got hurt, we would have someone to turn too. And it would be nice having a family again._

**Then we better introduce ourselves.**

Angel took a deep breath, "I'm 11 years old. I can read and control minds, breathe underwater, and shape shift. I love Max with all of my heart because she's been like a mom to me and she's always stuck by my side. She's sacrificed herself many times for my safety."

"I'm Maximum Ride as you all know. I can fly at speeds of over 400 mph, breathe underwater, and I have strengthened senses. I have experience being a leader." I finished.

"Speaking of that," Amelia asked, "What happened to the Flock? We looked them up but don't know why they aren't with you."

"All or nothing," I muttered under my breath, "All or nothing."

"I'll do it," Angel announced. She had already detached herself and had started speaking, despite my protests.

"Five years ago, we got our expiration dates, Max and I. Max went to the School to beg them to reverse the effects. They declined, but Max still went back every day. When we were almost dead, The Flock kicked us out. Accused us of being traitors. We went to the School and for five years Max did torturous tests. I had no idea of them at the time. But now, the School has let us go and has decided to never hunt us again." Angel ended. That did pretty much cover everything, though I wish that I had been strong enough to say it myself.

"That's…tough." Natara acknowledged, "And Shadow is so much like Fang…oh."

"I'll deal," I put a smile on my face, "I'll have to, seeing as I'll be your leader."

"Who's your second in command?" Shadow asked. _Fang used to be_, I thought bitterly. No. I had to think of the present and at the present, Angel was the only one that I could really trust to make decisions. However, I would want someone from this Flock to help me mold my leading style to what this Flock is used to.

"Natara," I decided. She nodded in acknowledgement and smiled. Natara would make a good beta.

"Sounds good," Sean said approvingly. I wasn't exactly asking him for permission, and I gave him a glare to show him that. He didn't even flinch.

Amelia announced, "I'm tired. Can we go to sleep now?"

Natara shook her head in disbelief, "Crazy kid. We find the girl we've been searching for years for and she wants to go to sleep."

I waved Amelia off, "Sure Ames. We just have to find a place. What state are we in?"

"We're in New York's state park." Sean informed me. I smiled nonchalantly.

"Then I know where to go," I smiled, "There'll be a roof over our heads, warmth, and we will blend right in."

"Since when do scrubby kids without parents blend in?" Natara asked doubtfully. That was a good question and it led at least one person to the right answer.

Angel had guessed where we were going, "They blend in the Subway tunnels."

"Exactly," I nodded.

We headed to the tunnels and Angel and I went long the tunnel we had before. Before long, we could hear lots of voices and the shadows of flickering flames.

Before entering, a woman stopped us. She looked about a hundred and had wrinkles all over her face. Her eyes were a weak blue.

"Do you have any food?" she asked in an orderly tone. I wasn't going to upset her. She looked starving.

I handed her a metal can full of soup. She smiled a toothless grin and waved us in. Almost instantly, a boy laden with computer gear confronted us.

"You _again_?" he panicked, "You're going to mess up my computer!"

"Don't worry," I calmed him down, "I'm not involved with that stuff anymore. I got the chip removed. They can't follow us."

The boy nodded, "Then I have no beef with you. But where's the other kids that you hang with?"

I looked away angrily, "I don't know or care,"

"They're dead to us," Angel said hatefully. Oh no…had I taught Angel to hate or had she learned that on her own? Eleven year olds shouldn't be able to hate.

The boy started backing away, but not fearfully. For some reason, he was unaffected by our menacing tones. It was refreshing and frustrating at the same time.

We found an empty spot at the fringes of the crowd of runaways and homeless people. We blended in among the others.

Shadow, Amelia, Natara, and Sean went off to explore our temporary home, leaving Angel and I alone. A troubling thought popped into my head, well two thoughts to be exact.

"We shouldn't leave them alone," I whispered to Angel.

"Why?" she asked. She had taken to not reading my thoughts, knowing that I would share everything with her sooner or later. The only time she read my thoughts is when we talked in my head.

"The School isn't hunting us, but that means nothing for the others," I explained.

Her eyes lit in understanding, "Yeah, that's true. But we shouldn't keep them on a short leash. They can take care of themselves."

I nodded, "Yeah. Everyone of them can fight off as many flyboys as they can send us, unlike the Flock."

I was quickly forgetting the pain The Flock had caused us. Was it because we weren't alone anymore? Because we had a new family? I had no idea, but I just knew I was forgetting. Not forgiving, but not really forgetting either. We were scarred, but we were healing.

Though even healed wounds make terrible scars and I will never, _ever_ forget this one.


	7. AN READ IT OR ELSE!

**POOR METAL FLOWERS…**

**VERY IMPORTANT! READ IT! THAT MEANS YOU PERSON THAT'S GOING TO SKIP THIS!**

HEY PEEPS! THIS METALFLOWERS BFFFE, DEMONIC ANGEL 7!(BEST FANFICTION FRIEND EVA!)

YOU SEE OUR DEAR FRIEND HAS BEEN GROUNDED FOR I DON'T KNOW THE REASON! IN FACT HER EXACT WORDS WERE.. "Uh...I've been grounded unilateral like 2013 so...could u put up a chapter on all of the stories hat I update on and tell them? Just write an authors note...telling them that ill be off for a "

SOOOO HERE I AM! SHE IS VERY SORRY AND WILL UPDATE AS SOON AS SHE GETS UNGROUNDED! BUT IN THE TIME SHE IS NOT YOU ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO CHEAK OUT MY STORY 'A DEMONS HELP'! ITS CURRENTALLY ON HOLD BECAUSE OF MY OTHER STORY BUT I WOULD LOOOOVE IF ANY OF YOU REVIEWED!

~DEMONIC ANGEL 7 OUT!


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